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He said the findings reflect the public’s fickle fascination with celebrity culture and an “ill-founded” belief that rich or beautiful people - like those seen on the TV – are ‘better’ than the everyman.

“The results of this poll suggest that a significant proportion of the public rely on one thing, and one thing alone, to weigh-up a person’s character – what they look like,” he said.

“Apparently beautiful people, in addition to rich people generally, pose less of a risk than less handsome or affluent individuals.

“Perhaps this is no surprise given our round-the-clock exposure to the rich and famous – to the glamorous few who can apparently do no wrong in the eyes of the public or the media.

“But of course this simply isn’t the case: the posh and the preened have a sting in their tail, just like everyone else.”

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The poll of 752 adults set out to determine whether first impressions really count – some 93% of those surveyed thought they did.